Can faith begin with a lie? That's what the Broncos must believe now. They are not a 2-4 NFL team. Their record is a big, fat lie.

A year ago, Denver was 6-0, undefeated and unbelievable.

This Broncos team is stronger, a more legitimate playoff threat.

"I think this team is every bit as good as we were at this time last year and even better," Denver linebacker Jarvis Moss said Sunday, after an infuriating 24-20 loss to the New York Jets.

It sounds crazy. But could this 2-4 football team actually be better than the 6-0 version of the same franchise from 2009?

"No, you're not crazy," Denver linebacker Mario Haggan said.

The Broncos must awake this morning, shake the hangover of a defeat that could give a fiercer headache than five shots of Jagermeister, toss the shards of their shattered hearts in the garbage and find some reason to believe Denver can make a playoff run.

"I think a game like this is going to make or break our team," Moss said bluntly.

In defeat, the steaming anger of Moss was so real that listening to him fume was like standing with your face peering in the open door of an oven baking at 400 degrees.

But the bad vibe in the Denver locker room was unmistakable. The Broncos clearly thought they were jobbed by a pass interference penalty on fourth down that set up the Jets with the football 2 yards from the goal line in the final 90 seconds.

As New York running back LaDainian Tomlinson scampered into the end zone, erasing a three-point Denver lead with what proved to be the winning touchdown for the Jets, many of the 75,000 incensed fans in the stadium chanted the all-American expletive until they were orange in the face, indicating their beef with the call by the officials.

OK, let's get one thing straight: Denver safety Renaldo Hill did mug Jets receiver Santonio Holmes on a last-gasp pass by quarterback Mark Sanchez. Was it interference? Absolutely. Guilty as charged. The Jets deserved to win.

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The Broncos, however, own the talent and the schedule to win the AFC West. The crucial question is: Do they have the stomach to recover the emotional trauma inflicted by a tough loss that could fester until it turns to bitterness?

"Well, it can't be tougher to get over," Denver coach Josh McDaniels said. Why? "Last year, we were September and October champions, and it didn't get us anywhere."

A season ago, after six games, the Broncos were the buzz of the league. McDaniels had not only moved into the office of legend Mike Shana- han, the new coach burned all the furniture and broomed quarterback Jay Cutler out of town. But that 6-0 team was a beautiful disguise doomed to be exposed as a pretender.

These 2-4 Broncos have gone toe-to-toe with bullies of the AFC, picked themselves off the floor from a pounding by Baltimore and now get to mess with the softies from their own division. It only gets easier from here. The six teams Denver has played own a cumulative record of 22-11.

During his young career with the Broncos, McDaniels has never coached with more guts and brains than in this loss. He resurrected his team's rushing attack from the grave and found a way to make first-round draft choice Tim Tebow more than a marketing gimmick.

McDaniels might fail, but he won't back down.

Know what should linger when the sting subsides?

After watching his players go meekly in defeat against Baltimore, McDaniels challenged the manhood of the Broncos. Rather than bail on their young, feisty coach, they stood up and slugged it out with New York, despite the absence of injured Denver safety Brian Dawkins and linebacker Robert Ayers.

"You want to know my true feelings about this game? I hurt," Haggan said. "But if I didn't hurt, I don't belong on the field. I don't belong on this team."

There will be a temptation to throw dirt on these Broncos and bury them with a record of 2-4.

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